Guide to Installing BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express

Tips, options, and essential resources

Planning to install the new BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Express? Before you start, read this handy installation guide. It includes steps, insider tips, essential resources, configuration options, and more.

What is BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express?

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express lets businesses of any size to quickly and easily get started with the BlackBerry® solution. It provides advanced BlackBerry® smartphone features with no additional software or user license fees, and works with BlackBerry smartphones provisioned with any Internet-enabled BlackBerry consumer data plan, BlackBerry Enterprise data plan, or a combination of both data plans.

How long will installation take?

Jonathan Cooper, Principal Analyst, BlackBerry Technical Support at Research In Motion (RIM), says that installation time depends upon the IT administrator's experience. “But many people will be able to install it in 15 to 20 minutes, not including rebooting the server,” he says.

The underlying installation process resembles the process for installing the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server. But installing BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express should be easier “because you do not need to configure some of the more complex enterprise-level features,” says Cooper.

Insider's tip: Before you start, plan

Before launching the installer, Amjad Mohmood, Principal Analyst, BlackBerry Technical Support at RIM, advises you to plan ahead by reading the installation and administration guides. “Whether to install on the Microsoft® Exchange® or Microsoft® Windows® Small Business Server or on a separate server, what your future load will be, which IT policies to implement—these are the things you want to understand before you launch the installer,” says Mohmood.

Note: Look for articles about IT policies for BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express in upcoming issues of the BlackBerry Connection.

Configuration: Same server or different?

When installed directly on a Microsoft Exchange Server or Windows Small Business Server, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express supports up to 75 BlackBerry smartphone users. If more than 75 users are required, you can install BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express on separate servers, with support for up to 2,000 BlackBerry smartphone users per server.

“From a technical point of view there is no difference between installing BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express on a Microsoft Exchange Server or Windows Small Business Server or on a separate server,” says Mohmood. "The advantage to installing it on the same server is purely lower cost: no need to purchase new hardware or new Windows licenses."

Keep in mind that BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is scalable. If you install it on the Microsoft Exchange server, then suddenly need to add 100 users, then you can simply install BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express again for free.

Figure 1. BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express installed on the Microsoft Exchange or Windows Small Business Server with up to 75 users (click for larger image)

Figure 2. BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express installed on a separate server and hosting up to 2,000 users(click for larger image)

Running in the same environment as BlackBerry Enterprise Server?

You can run BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express in the same environment as BlackBerry Enterprise Server. That is, provided that BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is introduced as a new deployment with its own BlackBerry domain, as defined by the BlackBerry configuration database.

In this case, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express can run independently in the same Microsoft Exchange environment in a Microsoft Windows Domain and would be managed from separate BlackBerry Administration Service consoles.

The most common configuration problem

Post-installation steps

Post-installation, Cooper says that most people will be ready to go with the default policies. Security-conscious companies may want to do some additional configuration. Cooper recommends asking such questions as, “Do you want passwords on all your BlackBerry smartphones? And do you want to lockdown certain software configurations so users cannot install third-party applications?”

How to get help

With BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express you get access to one complimentary support ticket to contact the BlackBerry® Technical Support Services team. The ticket is valid for 60 days from receiving the software download email.

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*Offers subject to change without notice. Please check offer details for more information. Void where prohibited. Check with service provider for availability, roaming arrangements and service plans. Certain features outlined in this document require a minimum version of BlackBerry® Enterprise Server software, BlackBerry® Desktop Software, BlackBerry® Device Software and/or BlackBerry devices and may require additional development or third party products and/or services for access to corporate applications. Prior to subscribing to or implementing any third party products and services, it is your responsibility to ensure that the airtime service provider you are working with has agreed to support all of the features of the third party products and services. Installation and use of third party products and services with Research In Motion's ("RIM") products and services may require one or more patent, trademark or copyright licenses in order to avoid infringement of the intellectual property rights of others. You are solely responsible for determining whether such third party licenses are required and are responsible for acquiring any such licenses. To the extent that such intellectual property licenses may be required, RIM expressly recommends that you do not install or use these products and services until all such applicable licenses have been acquired by you or on your behalf. Your use of third party software shall be governed by and subject to you agreeing to the terms of separate software licenses, if any, for those products or services. Any third party products or services that are provided with RIM products and services are provided "as is." RIM makes no representation, warranty or guarantee whatsoever in relation to the third party products or services and RIM assumes no liability whatsoever in relation to the third party products and services, even if RIM has been advised of the possibility of such damages or can anticipate such damages.

The above information regarding third party products and services is provided in BlackBerry Connection for your information. Since third parties provide the information to Research In Motion Limited ("RIM") and RIM relies on the information without performing any independent investigations, RIM makes no warranty or guarantee concerning the features, reliability, or pricing of the third party products or services, or their compatibility with any RIM products.